Portugal, Spain try to stamp out wildfires after deadly week

A woman uses a tree branch to fight a fire on a road leading to the village of Parada, northern Portugal, near Mortagua, on Thursday, Aug. 11 2016. Multiple blazes have been fed by brush in a hot, dry summer for several days. Major fires have also been raging in northwestern Spain and southern France. (AP Photo/Sergio Azenha)
(The Associated Press)

A firefighting helicopter drops its load of water on a forest fire near Santa Comba Dao, northern Portugal, Thursday, Aug. 11 2016. Firefighters in Portugal are battling multiple blazes fed by brush in a hot, dry summer for a sixth straight day. Major fires have also been raging in northwestern Spain and southern France. (AP Photo/Sergio Azenha)
(The Associated Press)

A firefighter watches a fire from their command post in the village of Trezoi near Mortagua, northern Portugal, Thursday, Aug. 11 2016. Firefighters in Portugal are battling multiple blazes fed by brush in a hot, dry summer for a sixth straight day. Major fires have also been raging in northwestern Spain and southern France. (AP Photo/Sergio Azenha)
(The Associated Press)

MADRID – Firefighters in Portugal and Spain still are battling scores of wildfires after a week that has wrought the worst destruction in years on the mountainous Iberian Peninsula.

Authorities in Portugal said more than 1,800 firefighters were tackling over 30 different fires throughout the country on Monday. But they say one of the most stubborn blazes has been brought under control near the central town of Sao Pedro do Sol.

In Spain, water-dumping planes and helicopters helped ground crews attack flames in the northwestern province of Galicia, which has lost around 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) to fire in recent days.

Stoked by winds and high temperatures, the wildfires have killed at least four people in Portugal and one in Spain over the last week and forced hundreds to flee their homes.